A Life Changed
by TaineStark
Summary: The day was beautiful, the sun was shining. Elijah knew today would be a good day. Little did he know the events that were about to unfold would change his immortal life forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The day was beautiful, the sun was shining. Elijah knew today would be a good day. Little did he know the events that were about to unfold would change his immortal life forever.

Elijah strolled through the deserted streets. Imagining what his life could have been like if he didn't constantly have to clean up Niklaus' messes. That was when he heard it. A faint sound in the distance that even with this Original Vampire hearing he struggled to make out. Curious as to what this sound could be he sped in the direction of the sound. He stopped to listen again. It was becoming clearer.

"Help"

Something inside Elijah pushed him to save this person in need. There, the corner house, set off from the rest of the houses on the road.

Louder now yet still faint, "help".

Rushing to the door, the urge burning inside him to deliver aid to this stranger stronger than ever. Listening harder for waht was inside the house he heard a faint heart beat faiding slowly along with an overwellming smell of blood. Pushing open the door he saw her, the source of the sound. A young woman spried out on the living room floor soaked in blood.

"Help"

"Invite me in. Invite me in and I will help you." Begged Elijah from the threshhold of the door. He needed to get in and help.

"Come in,"

"Elijah"

"Come in, Elijah."

Rushing to her side he noticed the many stab wounds across the woman's chest and stomach. She was faiding fast. Her heartbeat slowing, almost to a complete stop. Biting into his wrist, about to feed her his blood, she muttered one last word with her last breath before Elijah heard her heart stop…

"Ethan"

He tried to feed her his blood and heal her but he was too late.

Holding her in his arms, upset that he was too late to save her. Wondering why with her dying breath she would say a name. Ethan. The name of her killer, her lover, or maybe she was simply trying to say his name. Elijah got up, ready to leave when he heard yet another faint sound… another heartbeat. Faint but still there. Coming from the woman lying dead on the ground. The woman he failed to save.

Again, a heartbeat, but not hers. It was coming from her stomach. Suddenly realising what it was he dug his hands into her swollen stomach. Pulling the source of the heartbeat from the stranger's body.

Looking down at the small human now in his arms. Hoping and listening for another heartbeat, he cradled the little one against his chest. Then sudden wimper and cry came from the bundle in his arms.

The baby boy in his arms was alive.

Swaying from side to side trying to sooth the little one, he quieted down and opened his eyes. Brown eyes met deep blue and Elijah understood why he was drawn to this house in the early hours of the morning.

The little boy in his arms.

Ethan.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Elijah tucked little Ethan under the folds of his overcoat. He carried little Ethan up the stairs of the otherwise empty house. At the top of the stairs he found a room with freshly painted blue walls. Little clouds covered the walls and above his head scattered across the ceiling were stars depicting the different constellations.

Walking into the bathroom, Elijah started to clean Ethans tiny body. When all the blood was washed away Elijah wandered back into the bedroom to find something to clothe Ethan before getting ready to leave. Before exiting the room, with Ethan tucked under his overcoat, Elijah took a mental image of the room.

Standing by the front door, Elijah took one last look at the house that the boy in his arms was meant to grow up in. He looked at the mother lying on the ground.

" I'm sorry this was done to you. I'm sorry I was took late to save you. But I promise you I will care for your son. He will be my son in everything but blood. Always and forever"

The first few weeks with Ethan were difficult. His constant crying was starting to drive Elijah up the wall. Rocking him wasn't working, he would eat but then go right back to crying. Ethan would cry himself to exhaustion. Sleeping for a few hours only to wake wailing again.

Elijah did not know what to do. He was about to run from the house. Just a minute of peace and quiet must help him. Then he remembered his promise. He could never leave this little one alone and defenceless.

Maybe a song. A quick few notes on the piano in the living room. He placed the screaming Ethan in his carrier and placed him on a chair next to the piano. Maybe just to ease Elijah's own sleep deprived mind. He began to play the first slow song to come to his mind.

'Like Someone in Love', by Bill Evans.

Elijah's mind drifted along with the slow sweet notes that rung through the room. That is when he heard it. Silence. Nothing but the soft piano mallets hitting their strings. Ethan had stopped crying.

Elijah opened his eyes and looked at the baby carrier sitting beside him. Once again brown eyes met deep blue and he knew everything would turn out just fine.


	3. Chapter 3

Elijah had been traveling around the south east of the country for months trying to find a small town to hide in… to keep Ethan safe. He had found that town in the south of Georgia. The pair had been living in that small town for almost 10 months and Ethan's first birthday was coming up.

"Hey little one. Can you believe it. Two weeks and you will be one year old. Once year since we first met."

Ethan let out a little giggle. Looking at his father with those big deep blue eyes.

"Yeah, you think that is funny do you?"

Elijah attacked little Ethan, tickling his tummy. Ethan burst out into a fit of laughter, slapping hsi father trying to get him to stop. Elijah pulled his son close, hugging him to his chest and cuddling him.

"I love you little one."

*Knock, knock, knock*

Someone was at the door. Making his way to the door Elijah placed Ethan on his play-mat in the living room before opening the front door. Standing before him was a young woman looking a little bit nervous. Elijah looked the young woman up and down.

"May I help you?" Elijah asked.

"Hello. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Sam, I just moved in across the road." The woman replied.

There was something about her that looked familiar but Elijah couldn't quite place it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I should probably go." Sam remarked noticing how Elijah was looking at her.

"No. I must apologies, I am being rude. I'm Elijah. It is a pleasure to meet you. I didn't mean to stare. It is just you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I don't think so. I think I would have remembered if I'd met you before."

"I am being rude, please come in."

"Oh, no. I can't. I should go back. It was nice to meet you Elijah." Sam turned to walk away.

"It was nice to meet you too Sam. If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask." Elijah called after her.

Sam turned back and gave Elijah a shy smile before jogging across the street and back into her own house. She turned and gave Elijah a quick wave before closing the door.

The very next day there was another knock on the door. Walking over to the door, Elijah could hear a pair of feet shuffling outside. Elijah opened the door and there was Sam again.

"Hello again. Can I help you?" Elijah asked

"Hi. Yes actually. Are you any good at building furniture?" Sam asked with a smile. "I can use a screwdriver, if that is what you're looking for." Elijah replied with a smile of his own.

"I was hoping you could help me. Some of my new furniture just arrived and I can't seem to figure out how to put it all together. I'm not exactly the handy type."

"Do you have any tools or is this going to be a full package deal?" Elijah gave Sam a quick smirk.

"I do have a tool box, yes." Sam laughed

"Please come in. I need to grab some things before we go." Elijah stepped aside and invited Sam in.

Walking into the living room Ethan was sitting on his play-mat chewing on his teething rings. As soon as Ethan saw his father he dropped his toys, giggled and started to reach out for his father. Elijah went over to his son picking him up in his arms, hugging him close. "Hey little one. How are you doing?"

Sam walked into the living room behind Elijah. Elijah turned with Ethan in his arms. "I hope you don't mind if I bring him over. I can't exactly leave him alone." Elijah asked.

"No, of course I don't mind. I just… I didn't know…"

"That I had a son. It is alright. I didn't expect you know. I haven't exactly introduced him yet have I." Elijah walked toward Sam, "This is Ethan. Can you say hello to Sam, Ethan?" Ethan hid his face into Elijah's shoulder. He was a little shy. He hadn't met many people before.

"I am sorry. Ethan hasn't met many people before. We don't go out very often." Elijah stated giving Sam an apologetic look.

"That's okay. He is adorable. How old is he?"

"He is turning one in two weeks actually."

"One is a fun age. A lot of firsts, walking, talking, you will have some fun. It also means you are getting closer to the terrible twos. And terrible is very accurate."

Elijah let out a chuckle, "Shall we?"

"Yes, of course let's go." Sam replied.

Elijah picked up Ethan's favorite stuffed bear and his teething rings and followed Sam out the door. Once they made it across the road and to the front door, Sam walked in and Elijah stopped at the threshold. Sam turned and looked at Elijah.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in." Sam said to Elijah.

With that Elijah gave a little smirk and stepped inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Sorry for the long wait for this chapter I've been really busy with Uni work. This is a short chapter but I will be uploading the next chapters very soon. **

Chapter 4

Elijah sat on the ground in the living room putting in the last screw in the shelf he was building. "There we are. All done." Elijah let out a sigh and leaned back. Sam walked in from the kitchen with two glasses of lemonade. "Wow. I was not expecting that to happen so fast." Sam smiled handing Elijah a glass. He accepted it and took a sip, "This is really good. Thank you." Elijah stated getting up and making his way to the sofa to sit down. He took another sip as he watched Ethan sitting on the carpet gnawing on his teething rings.

"So, how long have you two been living here?" Sam asked walking around to take a seat on the other side of the sofa. "We have been here just under a year actually." Elijah responded still watching Ethan. "I don't mean to impose but why this town," Sam asked looking Elijah in the eye as she spoke, "why here of all the places you could go?" Elijah looked down into his glass of lemonade before answering. "It's alright," Elijah looked up at Sam with a saddened look, "We just needed a change. After everything that happened with Ethan's mother, we just had to get away." Ethan turned and gave his father a big slobbery grin from his place on the carpet and Elijah couldn't help but smile back.

"I totally understand. I had to get away too." Sam gave Elijah a sympathetic look, "I guess we are both hiding from our pasts." Elijah let out a small chuckle. "I guess we are." Sam and Elijah looked at one another with saddened eyes.

"Oh, look at the time," Elijah stated as he looked down at his wrist watch, "I didn't realise how late it was getting. We had best head back home." Standing from his place on the sofa Elijah made his way over to Ethan on the carpet, picking him up and gathering Ethan's toys. "I am sorry if it seems we are rushing out but I should really be putting Ethan down for the night." In Elijah's arms Ethan gave a big yawn and snuggled into his father's shoulder, closing his eyes.

"No, of course. He has been up for quite a bit of the day, playing around on my carpet. I would think he will sleep well tonight." Sam stated rising from the other end of the sofa and making her way to the front door, followed closely by Elijah and Ethan. "Thank you so much for the help with my furniture. I don't think I could have done it without your help. So thank you again." "It was my pleasure. And please if there is anything please don't hesitate to come by again." Elijah stated making his way out the door. "The same goes for you two. If there is ever anything I can help with please let me know. I am right across the street." Sam waved at Elijah and Ethan as they made their way back across the road and home. Before going inside Elijah turned and waved back to Sam. From his arms Ethan turned his head and also gave Sam a small wave before snuggling back into his place in the nook of his father's neck, ready to go to sleep.

**A/N Please leave me a review of what you think about the story so far. It would be really nice to hear what you think. Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

A week had passed since Elijah and Ethan first met Sam, their new neighbor from across the street and the three had already become quite close. The small group had spent almost every day in the past week together learning about each other and Sam and Elijah became what one might call new friends.

Sitting in the living room of Elijah's house Sam watched as Elijah held Ethan up on his little feet. Holding onto his little hands Elijah led Ethan forward with little aided steps. "I have been doing this exercise with him for months now and still…" Elijah sighed as he watched Ethan once again fall over. "Don't stress it too much," Sam reassured Elijah, "He will walk when he is well and ready to." "I know that; however, it is still frustrating." Elijah picked Ethan up in his arms and made his way toward the kitchen to make Ethan a snack followed close behind by Sam.

Opening the refrigerator, Elijah retrieved some apples and some juice as well as some crackers from the neighboring cupboard. "Would you mind?" Elijah looked at Sam and then Ethan. "I would love to." Sam reached over taking Ethan from Elijah's arms. Elijah then began preparing a small plate with the crackers and apple slices as well as serving a small sippy cup with the juice. Making their way over to the dining table Sam put Ethan in his highchair and Elijah placed the plate and cup in front of Ethan. Right away Ethan grabbed for the crackers and began munching away.

"I have been meaning to ask you something," Elijah turned to Sam as they both took a seat at the table. "Yes, go ahead ask away. You know I'm always happy to help you out." Sam stated turning toward Elijah with a wide grin on her face. "Ethan's first birthday is coming up this Friday and I was wondering if you would want to celebrate with us." Sam reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone, "Give me a second to check my schedule, like I would have anything on a Friday." Sam stated in a sarcastic tone. Moments later she froze, staring at her phone screen. "Is everything alright? Elijah asked in a worried tone. "Oh, Yeah… I'm…I'm fine. Oh, will you look at the time, I should be getting home." Sam hurriedly grabbed her bag from the sofa as she made her way toward the front door. "Thank you for having me over. I will see you tomorrow." Sam walked out the door and slammed it behind her. Elijah just stood by the dining table with a surprised and worried look on his face.

Elijah wanted to follow Sam out the door, ask her what had her so spooked, but he thought better of it. He knew her well enough already that she would tell him when the time was right.

A few days had passed since Sam had made her exit from Elijah's home with no explanation. Elijah has seen Sam around but whenever she saw him, she made a quick escape. She was obviously trying to avoid him, but he couldn't quite understand why. What had he done…? What had he said to upset her so much? Elijah hadn't spoken to Sam for almost three days and was beginning to get very worried about her. Ethan's birthday was tomorrow, and he still didn't know if Sam would be coming by. Elijah decided that he needed to find out what was going on with her. Find out if it was something he had said that upset her off if it was something else entirely.

It was now coming on 3 pm and Ethan was beginning to yawn. He was ready for his nap. Elijah picked Ethan up from his play mat and carried him upstairs. Walking into Ethan's room, Elijah lied him down in his crib ready for bed. Knowing full well that Ethan would not fall asleep for his afternoon nap without some help, Elijah made his way over to the piano that he had placed next to Ethan's crib when they first moved in and began to play the usual smooth jazz that he knew would send Ethan right to sleep. As soon as Elijah heard Ethan's soft snores he stopped playing and left the room and the house.

Elijah knocked on Sam's door listening intently for her footsteps inside. As soon as he heard movement, he called out to her, "Sam, I know you are in there. Please let me in. If I did anything to upset you, I'm sorry. Please come to the door." Listening again he heard her come to the door, "Please I know you are in there." Some time passed before Sam finally opened the door to Elijah. She looked him in the eye, and he knew she had been crying. Leaving the door open, she walked toward the kitchen and began making some tea. Elijah followed her and sat down at the table. "I haven't seen you in a couple of days and I began to get worried. I need you to know that if I said anything to upset you, I am sorry." "It wasn't you," Sam answered with her back still turned, "It's just…" Sam put both her hands on the counter and Elijah saw her start to shake. He got up and rushed to her side. Holding her up he walked her to the table and lowered her into a chair. "Hey, It's alright, everything is going to be alright. You know you can tell me anything, right?" Sam nodded her head but couldn't yet speak. "Let me finish the tea. Take as long as you need, and I will be here when you are ready to talk."

Elijah finished making the tea and sat down in the chair beside her, setting the two mugs in front of them. Sam had calmed down and stopped crying. Holding on to the tea mug in front of her she began to tell Elijah everything.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I'm sorry for the long wait for these chapters. I have been very busy. But this is why I've decided on a double update. Enjoy!**

"To understand what I am going through, you first have to know about my family," Sam began. "I had a rough upbringing. My mother left our family right after I was born. My father was heartbroken and the first few years of my life were hard. But what got me through was my big sister, Kirsten. She was 8 years older then me so she but she was the one who really raised me. When I was 4 my father was killed in a car accident and my sister and I were placed into foster care." Sam paused and took a sip of her tea before she continued. "My sister tried her best to keep us together but that kept us from finding a permanent home. As soon as she aged out, she took me with her and we were able to make an alright life for ourselves. However, this all changed 3 years ago when she met Chris. He seemed nice enough at first but as soon as Kirsten moved in with him, everything began going downhill. Chris changed after that and he started to get angry with my sister often. I told her that staying with him was a mistake, that she should make a clean break from him and move out but she refused. She was in love. After a year of being in that house with them, I couldn't take it anymore and I moved away."

Elijah could see that Sam was struggling to continue her story. He reached out and grabbed her hand to show her that she had nothing to be afraid of, "It is ok if you don't want to continue, I understand this is hard for you." "No, I want to tell you, I have to tell you." Sam interrupted. "A few months after I left, I got a call from Kirsten. She sounded so excited on the phone. That is when she told me she was pregnant. I knew then that this would either be a very good thing for her and Chris's relationship or it could go very wrong. I kept in touch with her throughout her pregnancy until a month before her due date I could no longer get in touch with her. I started to get very worried until I received a very angry call from Chris asking me where my sister was. She had run away from him." Sam squeezed Elijah's hand before she continued, "I was relieved to hear that she had escaped from him but I still didn't know where she was until I got a call from a number I hadn't seen before. When I answered I heard my sister's voice through the speaker, she was terrified. She had managed to get away but she didn't believe she was safe. I asked her where she was, I would come to her and we would hide from Chris together. She told me she was in a town in Virginia called Mystic Falls."

This instantly caught Elijah's attention but he made no change in his demeanor as to not startle Sam. "I traveled to Mystic Falls as quickly as I could but…" Sam let go of Elijah's hand and stood up from her seat at the table, turning away from him as if in shame. "but by the time I got there I was already too late." Sam began to shake and tears began to flow from her already red and puffy eyes. Elijah stood up, and held her close to his chest, letting her cry into his shirt. He would not let her go until she was ready. Still held in his arms Sam whispered the end of her tragic tale. "Chris had got to her first. She had been stabbed multiple times and left to die alone in her house. Her unborn son…" Sam continued through floods of tears, "my nephew had been cut out of her and was gone too."

Elijah froze with Sam still crying into his chest. _"Could it be? No, a coincidence. But the details were too similar. It had to be."_ Elijah thought to himself. Sam had calmed down some and was no longer crying. She pushed herself away from Elijah's hold, "She died exactly one year ago this Friday." Elijah could not believe what he had been told, "That is why I ran out of your house when you invited me to Ethan's birthday party. I was having such a good time getting to know both of you I completely forgot about my sister." Sam turned away from Elijah again, "You must think the worst of me now. How could I have forgotten about my sister?" Elijah's head was spinning but he could not show this in fear of letting Sam know what he had just put together. "No, I could never think badly of you." Elijah put his hand on Sam's shoulder, "None of that was your fault. I know your sister would understand. She would want you to move forward with your life." Elijah kept a straight face through all this, trying not to give a hint of how he was really feeling.

"I am so sorry to leave you after all this, but I really must be getting back home. Ethan should be waking up from his nap any minute now." "No, no. I understand, he shouldn't wake up without you there." Sam walked Elijah to the front door without another word. As he walked out the door, Elijah turned to Sam, looking her in the eye, "Listen, I understand if you don't want to come tomorrow but from experience, you really shouldn't be alone on days like tomorrow. You should be around friends." Elijah gave Sam another hug, engulfing her small frame in his arms before returning home.

As soon as Elijah entered his house he rushed upstairs to Ethan's room. Still asleep in his crib Elijah watched Ethan thinking about the story he had just heard. He could hardly believe it. The kind woman who lived across the street, who had been in his home and played with his son was, unknowingly, playing with her nephew the whole time.

**A/N Did you see this coming? Was it a twist you were expecting? Let me know what you think. More updates will be coming more frequently now.**


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